There is a real crisis that is growing in the aquatic community. With summer a mere few weeks away, there is still no word on when swimming pools will open. While news is likely coming soon, there are 2 likely scenarios which may play out: summer pools will open at some point in summer with limitations (assume 50% capacity), or they will not open at all. Even if pools do open for free swim, it will likely be ‘by appointment’ and swimming lessons may not even be an option as it is a contact service.
Current information seems to be trending towards a restart of some sports soon. The first allowable programs will likely be outdoor individual (or private) and non-contact sports. Think track and field, cycling, rowing, all the individual formats (no teams). Group swimming lessons will likely be in one of the last phases, but private outdoor or at-home swim lessons may find themselves permitted in the early phases of the sports industry restart.
Many parents rely on these outdoor pools for their summer swimming lessons. Each year hundreds of young kids – let’s talk specifically in the 3 to 5 year old range- will reach the critical milestone of learning to swim on their own. Effectively they are going from being a large swimming risk to a much lower risk in a very short period of time.
But what happens when all those swimming lessons don’t happen, and all those milestones aren’t achieved? The high-risk swimming demographic of your population just got bigger. To compound this more, thousands of kids are also not receiving their pre-summer swimming lessons. Pretty much ,the two biggest seasons of swimming, spring and summer, and not happening.
Mathematically speaking, there will likely be more drownings if all these kids are not getting their swimming lessons. Thus, parents should continue to seek out alternatives if and when they are safely available.
We recently surveyed over 10,000 past and present families who have swam with the Montreal Institute of Swimming and the Canada Swim School. The goal was to assess their feelings regarding covid and swimming. The results were incredibly informative, and gave us a glimpse into how parents prioritize swimming within a covid world. 73% of respondents would be ready to resume swimming once the government gives the all clear. 82% indicated that swimming was a high priority for this summer, and would look to get swim classes at some point. But nothing beats the 100% of parents who rightfully put safety first, and would not resume swimming until it was expressly given the all-clear by health authorities. There was also strong support of activity providers who clearly put safety first, and did not rush back into their operations. My team aptly summarized this sentiment as supporting ‘safety before profit’.
We need to be more mindful & watchful of our children around pools this summer
Before going into the most-likely available options for swimming classes post-quarantine, it is critical to restate that kids have not been getting their pre-summer swim classes. For kids who were on the cusp of learning to swim themselves, it means that they remain non-swimmers going into summer instead of being able to swim on their own.
This is a scary notion especially for parents of these swimmers. Within the laws of probability, it also means is that there are more non-swimmers out there this summer per capita than previous summers, which if left unchecked will likely lead to more drownings.
What to look for if you need a new place for swimming lessons
It is absolutely essential to go with a reputable company or swim school. Parents have a responsibility to research their covid health & safety policies to ensure that risk is minimal and that you are comfortable with the experience. It needs to be clear that the company is putting your safety first while clearly communicating their covid safety plan. Once a good safety record has been established, it’s also a good idea to check their reviews. I recommend Google & Facebook, which tend to have pretty thorough reviews of sports & fitness companies.
When assessing if a company has a good covid safety plan, I recommend looking for these 3 things:
- Clarity – covid-related policies are simple and understandable. They make sense, are fair, and above all put safety first.
- Accessibility – when you visit the company’s website, there should be a statement regarding covid readily available. Accessing the accompanying policies should be easy and obvious. If you register, you should receive a copy of the policies with your registration confirmation.
- Frequency – from their homepage, to your client account, to any registration emails, and communications, safety and covid-related policies should be constantly communicated.
Private swim schools
The private swimming sector has been booming in the last decade, going from almost non-existent to a major player in the aquatic world. There exist many private swim schools, who operate out of private locations, gyms, and hotels. Private swim schools tend to be able to adapt quickly to changes in the industry, and thus will likely pivot their strategies to offer classes which can accommodate new health & safety requirements.
Keep in mind that swimming lessons at these locations will absolutely be subject to new health & safety polices. While these are not yet confirmed (as the aquatic community continues to wait on directives from health authorities), expect things like:
- Only private classes available (no group lessons)
- Contactless lesson options
- One parent per child permitted on site
- Sanitizing stations at entrance and throughout facility
- Showing up in your bathing suit (so as to not have to use the changing room)
- Social distancing measures on-site (markings on floor)
- Anti-gathering measures (closures of spectator areas, and other common areas)
- Symptom-checking the day of the activity
At-home swim lessons
At-home classes are a wonderful option, as it eliminates the need to go anywhere. The instructor comes to your home and teaches in the comfort of your own pool. Don’t have a pool? Depending on your level of comfort and how much quarantine measures have eased, you could always coordinate with a neighbor, friend or family member to use their pool.
Having an instructor come right to you eliminates the majority of the risk, however it does come with a risk: the instructor themselves. Thus, we come back to the company’s safety policies and safety record. Do they have a policy specifically for at-home classes? Does it comply or exceed the health authority requirements? Are you comfortable with it?
Parents should be very mindful and suspicious of freelance swim instructors, who offer at-home classes or ‘stealth’ classes in a local swimming pool. When under pressure to get swim lessons, and when finding them are difficult, parents may lower their guard (and safety threshold) when presented with freelance offers of better prices, good results, with the promise of safety. But be careful – these instructors are accountable to themselves only for safety, often do not have the required insurance (or any insurance for that matter), versus established institutions who have long-standing values of safety and excellence.
What about indoor aquatic centers and traditional group lessons?
Hopefully these centers will be open sooner than later, likely following similar directives as private swim clubs, though the list will be expanded since these centers tend to welcome more people. Group classes are likely to resume in the latter stages of the sports restart plan. When they do restart, it will likely start with small groups (2:1, 3:1), and incrementally increasing as cases continue to decrease.
The bottom line
For the moment we still don’t know if and when swimming lessons will resume. And if they do resume, where will they be permitted and under what limitations? Initial insights seem to indicate that private and at-home lessons will be the first type of swim classes to be permitted to resume, again subject to the strict guidelines put forth by health authorities.
But the good news is that all signs are pointing to the fact that options will likely be available to families to get swimming lessons this summer. From there it’s just a matter of selecting the right one.
Swim safely everybody.
